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Wallabies centurion emerges as shock candidate to fill Australian coaching vacancy

By Online Editors
Matt Giteau playing for the Wallabies. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

Former star Wallabies playmaker Matt Giteau is being touted as a potential replacement for ex-teammate Stephen Larkham as Australia’s attack coach ahead of this year’s World Cup.

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Whispers of Giteau’s appointment to the role have been audible since Larkham’s sacking by head coach Michael Cheika in early February, with differences in coaching philosophies and attacking strategies spelling the end of Larkham’s role in the side.

Cheika is yet to find a replacement for the former 102-test first-five, with the appointment of Scott Johnson in the newly-founded director of rugby role delaying the search for a suitable candidate.

However, speaking on Fox Sports during their Super Rugby pre-match show on the weekend, Giteau hinted at the possibility of joining the national set-up as the side’s attack coach.

Asked whether he would be at the World Cup in a coaching capacity during a ‘yay, nay or hard to say’ segment, Giteau responded with a lengthy pause before reluctantly saying “nay”.

“I’m available, but it won’t be from a paid employment point of view,” he said.

His delayed answer came after he showed no hesitation in answering the previous question about whether he would come out of international retirement for the tournament, to which he immediately said “nay”.

While having never previously been employed as a coach, Giteau has some coaching experience, which he first developed as a player-coach over a brief period during his time at Toulon after incumbent head coach Mike Ford quit his role in 2017, while he also reportedly spent time with the Brumbies this season as well.

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The limited experience he has within the realm of coaching could work in Giteau’s favour should he want to fill the Wallabies’ coaching vacancy, especially given the prerequisites Cheika outlined for his preferred candidate to Fox Sports over the weekend.

“The person we bring in will be someone I think that will be with the players, on field a lot, not build a lot of strategy, more getting players to embrace strategy and understand it so it’s automatic on the field,” Cheika said.

Other names rumoured to be in the conversation to plug the gap in Australia’s backroom staff include Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson and Rebels assistant Shaun Berne, as well as Scots College director of rugby Brian Smith.

Cheika is also understood to be consulting with a raft of rugby personalities for advice on who could fill the role, including former Wallabies fullback Chris Latham, ex-World Cup-winning hooker Phil Kearns, Australian women’s sevens star Charlotte Caslick, “some rugby league types”, and Giteau himself.

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However, given Cheika’s preference for the successful candidate to immerse themselves among the players on-field, Giteau would appear best suited to the position given his experience, understanding and relationship of the current generation of players.

Giteau, capped 103 times internationally, last featured for the Wallabies as a player in 2016, and retired from test rugby last year.

He featured in three World Cups, including the most recent tournament in 2015, where the Wallabies fell short of their third world title after losing 34-17 to New Zealand at Twickenham.

He currently plies his trade for Japanese Top League club Suntory Sungoliath.

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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